#114: B2B Freelance Writer Elise Dopson on Growing a Freelance Business (and Building a Personal Brand)

About the Episode:

In today’s episode, we’re talking to Elise Dopson, an elite B2B freelance writer who’s worked with or been featured on sites like HubSpot, CoSchedule, The Content Marketing Institute and ConversionXL to name a few.

Hailing from Manchester in the United Kingdom, Elise actually got her start in the digital world with her very first blog – focused on beauty products she was into – at the surprisingly young age of 12! After graduating from high school, Elise didn’t feel like going to University would be the best fit for her, so she decided to head straight into the workforce and that’s when she landed her first gig working at a content marketing agency.

After a couple of years working at the agency, she decided it was time to strike out on her own as a freelance writer, so that she could do more of the actual fun writing work with clients, rather than simply spending hours project managing behind the scenes. She’s been rapidly on the rise as a B2B freelance writer ever since.

[02:30] When Elise first started freelancing. 04:04 What came after starting a blog at 12 years old. [06:23] How old she was when she got her first job. [10:03] What it was like transitioning to freelancing full-time. [25:00] Her advice on how to land high-quality clients. [13:39] Her number one acquisition tool. [15:12] The role of her blog in generating new leads. 16:53 Advice 0n how to set your prices. 24:25 Her number one piece of advice for listeners that want to build a freelance business. 26:18 The best investment she’s made in order to grow his business.

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Hi I'm Ryan Robinson

Full-time blogger, podcaster and side project aficionado. Join me here, on ryrob.com to learn how to start a blog, make money blogging and grow a profitable side business. I also write for publications like Fast Company, Forbes, Entrepreneur, Inc, Business Insider and more. Let’s chat on Twitter about business and side projects.

I’m 100% convinced in today’s world of employment uncertainty side hustles proved themselves more financially stable than going to work for someone else. However, realistically looking at things from an everyday point of view, I’m a firm believer one has to go to a day job or full-time or part-time employment in order to meet their immediate needs and necessities such as paying rent or mortgage, utility bills, keeping food in the refrigerator, gas in the car and more.

However, people should also consider using the awesome power of the Internet to start a side hustle and set aside a small amount from their weekly or biweekly paychecks to invest in their online side hustle ventures. Not only should they pay few years web hosting fees in advance so their hosting bill is covered for the next few years just in case their employment is jeopardized for whatever reason, paying the hosting bill will give them a piece of mind knowing while they’re out of a day job, there hosting bill and domain renewal fees are paid years in advance, so their side hustle business building online is uninterrupted.

I’m a firm believer that the side hustle alone can make anyone a potential future “side hustle millionaire,” if they continue building their side hustles online out of sheer faith and don’t look at the moment of how much money they’re making or not making. If more people had a long-term vision where they wanted their side hustles the be in the next 5 to 10 years, they would understand that a day job is nothing more than a bridge to “entrepreneurial greatness,” and achieving side hustle millionaire status. 🙂